CSU San Marcos vs Cal Poly Pomona

California State University-San Marcos (CSUSM) and California State Polytechnic University-Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) are two distinct universities within the California State University system, each offering unique educational experiences. CSUSM, located in the coastal city of San Marcos, boasts a diverse student body and a strong focus on liberal arts and sciences. Cal Poly Pomona, situated in the vibrant city of Pomona, is renowned for its engineering, agriculture, and business programs. While both universities share a commitment to academic excellence, they differ in acceptance rates, popular majors, student demographics, and graduation rates. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona	California State University-San Marcos
Overview
Location	Pomona, California	San Marcos, California
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	88.0%	79.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	60.6%	93.3%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $70	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $70
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	41,226	13,986
Total number of admissions given out	24,993	13,049
Admitted students who chose to enroll	3,463	2,413
Yield rate	13.9%	18.5%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $25,835 Out of state: $37,715	In state: $22,366 Out of state: $34,246
Average net price	$12,942	$14,296
Tuition	In state: $5,742 Out of state: $17,622	In state: $5,742 Out of state: $17,622
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $10,980 Meal plan: $5,590
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	76.0% Average amount $9,025	70.0% Average amount $9,298
Students receiving federal student loan	17.0% Average amount $4,805	22.0% Average amount $4,734
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $12,608	1.0% Average amount $12,988

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	26,974 Men 53.5% Women 46.5%	14,963 Men 38.4% Women 61.6%
Graduate students	2,482 Men 47.3% Women 52.7%	1,292 Men 28.4% Women 71.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	0.8%	1.5%
International students	4.6%	3.4%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	4,128	1,547
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California Washington Oregon Guam Hawaii	California Colorado Washington Virginia Arizona

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Engineering Social Sciences Computer and Information Science Architecture	Business Health Professions Biological and Biomedical Sciences Computer and Information Science Kinesiology & Leisure Studies
Students to faculty ratio	28:1	25:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	70.2%	59.2%
Dropout rate	23.1%	33.6%
Transferred out	1.7%	2.6%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $85,357 Year 3: $96,966 Construction Engineering Technologies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $75,286 Year 2: $77,329 Year 3: $89,517 Civil Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $72,891 Year 2: $72,650 Year 3: $86,380 Engineering Technology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $82,880 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,110 Year 2: $69,930 Year 3: $81,209 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,168 Year 2: $67,918 Year 3: $79,792 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $65,611 Year 2: $63,501 Year 3: $76,900 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,217 Year 2: $64,394 Year 3: $76,474 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,215 Year 2: $68,305 Year 3: $76,397 Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,663 Year 2: $64,087 Year 3: $76,106	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $107,746 Year 2: $103,555 Year 3: $111,324 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $90,827 Year 2: $88,074 Year 3: $90,666 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $72,843 Year 2: $74,576 Year 3: $83,791 Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $66,941 Year 3: $72,765 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,962 Year 2: $71,015 Year 3: $71,818 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $71,769 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $68,571 Physics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $57,318 Year 3: $65,899 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $45,297 Year 2: $49,520 Year 3: $62,797 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $59,252 Year 2: $55,286 Year 3: $59,957 Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $45,864 Year 3: $57,022

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